This event is exclusive to Friends of Tortoise
Press Gazette reported a net loss of 265 local news titles between 2005 and 2020. This hollowing out of local press has been much lamented, diminishing local government scrutiny and undermining trust in news media overall. Has the business model for reliable, quality local news been destroyed for good by the algorithms? Since they were designated as key workers in the pandemic, has the burnished reputation of on-the-ground local news reporters marked the start of a resurgence in local news? Does ‘local’ have to be defined geographically? Or are we at risk of fetishising local news over the supposedly “untrustworthy” national papers and big corps?
Join us for a ThinkIn with local news innovators who believe it is not only possible, but essential that trust in news is rebuilt local-first.
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editor

Phoebe Davis
ThinkIn Executive
Natalie Fahy
Editor of Nottingham Live, Derbyshire Live, Lincolnshire Live and their sister publications (NottinghamPost, Derby Telegraph and Lincolnshire Echo)
Moya Lothian-Mclean
Politics Editor, gal-dem
Megan Lucero
Director of the Bureau Local. Megan built the Bureau Local’s collaborative, bottom-up investigations team and has overseen all of its collaborative investigations since 2017.
James Mitchinson
Journalist of 20 years and editor of The Yorkshire Post, recently awarded – for the first time – PAMCo’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.